MUMBAI: The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai Police on Monday arrested three people in connection with last year's July 13 serial blasts in which 27 people were killed and over 100 injured, sources said.

Claiming to have cracked the serial blasts that rocked Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar in south and central Mumbai, sources said the arrests have been made by Mumbai Police from Bihar, according to IANS.

Two people, Naqi Ahmed and Nadeem Akhtar have been arrested for their involvement in the blasts, Times Now reported.

Indian Mujahideen's Yasin Bhatkal IM was behind the blasts, according to ATS.

ATS chief Rakesh Maria was likely to reveal more details in the case later Monday.

The investigation is being conducted by teams of the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and others, with support from the local security agencies in several states.

Three blasts at close intervals, on July 13 last year, shook the country's diamond and gold hubs - Opera House and Zaveri Bazar - and a busy commercial area of Dadar, killing at least 27 people and leaving around 125 injured.

Centre says Anti-Terror Squad has the wrong men, with one of the men arrested is actually an informer for the Intelligence Bureau

Updated: January 23, 2012 23:55 IST

Mumbai: Hours after the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) in Maharashtra announced that it had arrested three men who helped execute a trio of blasts in Mumbai in July, the central government has said they've got the wrong men. The excruciating embarrassment is exacerbated by the fact that one of the men arrested is actually an informer for the Intelligence Bureau, according to sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The sources, who do not want to be identified, say the announcements made in Mumbai are "premature and misleading."

On July 13 last year, 27 people were killed and nearly 100 injured when bombs exploded in quick succession in Zaveri Bazaar, near Opera House and close to the Dadar area in the city centre. The alleged mastermind is Indian Mujahideen founder Yasin Bhatkal who remains missing.

This afternoon, Rakesh Maria who heads the Anti-Terror Squad held a press conference in Mumbai where he described in great detail the role played by Haroon Rashid Naik who was found in Mumbai, and Nadeem Akhtar and Naki Sheikh who were arrested from Bihar. They allegedly stole the scooters in which the bombs were planted, helped to rent a house for Mr Bhatkal, and ferried explosives between Delhi and Mumbai. But the three men arrested played peripheral roles. And though Naki Sheikh was in close touch with Mr Bhatkal for three months, during which period he was tailed by the Delhi Police, the Mujahideen leader managed to slip away.

He's not alone. Home Ministry sources say that the two bombers behind the attacks are Tabrez and Waqar, Pakistani nationals, who have managed to escape because of the rivalry and consequent lack of coordination between the Delhi and Mumbai police.

Sources also say the Maharashtra Police has claimed ignorance about Naki Sheikh cooperating with the investigators. They also add that the Ministry of Home Affairs is likely to call for a meeting of state police organisations to ensure better coordination.

You can expect Rakesh Maria to continue to deny any wrong. The main bombers who are Pakistani have escaped who are still free to make bombs and utilise them. if one agency is saying that they were co-operating with Naqi, why not confirm this fact before denying it outright?
The way you would crack terror groups is by infiltrating one your people into them as a double agent and then getting the big fish, this is what seems to be the approach the Delhi police had taken.

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Media reports in the past week have suggested that Naqi was a Delhi police informer.

Delhi police sources today iterated that Naqi, who knew Bhatkal, was supposed to lead a Delhi police team camping in Mumbai to the three men living in the Byculla flat.

But before that, the ATS arrested Naqi in the forgery case after getting whiff of the Delhi police investigations in the ATS backyard. The arrest also alerted the three â€” Bhatkal and the two unidentified suspects, the Delhi sources claimed.

Maria today rubbished claims of a botch-up, saying that he had been working closely with Delhi police. â€œThe so-called high-handedness of ATS is absolutely unfounded and far from the truth. The main accused in the case, Bhatkal, was in the city only in the month of June for some time and in July before the blasts. He left on July 13, while the other two left in November, around the same time when Delhi police arrested six IM men in a nation-wide operation.

â€œThe reports have claimed that he was to return to the city to collect his rent deposit and that he would have been arrested then by Delhi police and that the ATS botched up the operation. This is not true. Would the terrorists come back for Rs 84,000?â€ Maria asked.

But sources in Delhi police said Naqi was first contacted by their special cell in December to trace IM militants responsible for the Mumbai serial blasts. On January 8, Delhi police officers had taken him to Mumbai to identify two suspects, they added.

According to Naqiâ€™s brother Taqi Ahmed, Delhi police officers had taken Naqi to several places in Mumbai in search of terrorists. â€œI spoke to him on January 10 and he told me he would return home in a couple of days. But later I learnt that he was picked up by the Maharashtra ATS at night. He is suffering because of the ego clash between Delhi police and their counterparts in Mumbai. Whenever I call up Mumbai police, they abuse me,â€ Taqi said.

Taqi stays in Jamianagar in south-east Delhi and owns a small leather shop.

A Delhi police officer said: â€œThey (the Maharashtra ATS) felt bad when Delhi police solved the Pune bakery blast case last year. Now it will be difficult for them to prove Naqiâ€™s involvement.â€

But a top security officer said: â€œItâ€™s nothing but a turf war between the Maharashtra ATS and the Delhi special cell. Let them prove Naqiâ€™s involvement in the court of law.â€

Government sources in Delhi said there was no clash among agencies but conceded lack of clarity on sharing of information among different central and state agencies.

The Union home ministry is expected to meet directors-general of police next month to sort out problems of co-ordination between the ATS, central agencies and Delhi police